The figures were revealed by the university admissions service Ucas, 24 hours after students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their A-level results.

A total of 426,070 students have so far been accepted on a degree course. This is 4% up on 2014.

Some 370,000 have been accepted on to their first choice of course, while 34,300 have been placed on their second choice.

A total of 16,660 students have been placed in the last 24 hours, the highest number since 2011.

This year is the first time a cap on places in England has been lifted, allowing universities to recruit more students.

The latest figures also show that 6% of places have gone to students from other countries in the European Union, up 11% on 2014. A total of 7% of places have gone to those from outside the EU, an increase of 5%.